Two-barred Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernOmnivore

ForestCup nestSmall · 29 g

What the Two-barred Crossbill sounds like

Sonogram of the Two-barred Crossbill: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Max Karlsson · Flight call · Gävle Municipality, Gavleborg County, Sweden · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Doug Hynes · Song · Pouch Cove Line, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Max Karlsson · Call · Uppsala, Uppsala, Uppsala län, Sweden · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The two-barred crossbill is 14.5–17 cm (5.7–6.7 in) in length and weighs 25–40 g (0.88–1.41 oz). It has short legs, a forked tail, a crossed bill and two prominent white wing-bars. The male of the nominate subspecies has forehead, crown, nape and upper-parts bright raspberry-red. The scapulars are black or blackish brown with pink edges. The upper tail coverts are black with white fringes. The female lacks the pink and instead has greenish-yellow head and upperparts.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Two-barred Crossbill

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Two-barred Crossbill

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 19 countries with regular records, and 9 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Canada United States Sweden Norway Finland United Kingdom Russia St. Pierre & Miquelon China Denmark Iceland Mongolia Poland Bermuda Belarus Faroe Islands Estonia Ukraine Hungary

Recorded as a rare visitor in Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Japan, Portugal, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia.

About the Two-barred Crossbill

The two-barred crossbill or white-winged crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds in the coniferous forests of North America and the Palearctic.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Parrot CrossbillLoxia pytyopsittacusAdult males tend to be red or orange in colour, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation.

Cassia CrossbillLoxia sinesciurisThe Cassia crossbill shares many physical features with the red crossbill and all of its different call types.

Hispaniolan CrossbillLoxia megaplagaThe Hispaniolan crossbill is about 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs about 28 g (0.99 oz).

Side by side: Red Crossbill vs Two-barred Crossbill · Pine Grosbeak vs Two-barred Crossbill · Parrot Crossbill vs Two-barred Crossbill

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